Visiting a parent in assisted living is essential to maintaining familial connection. While a senior living community provides a range of programs, events, experiences, and opportunities for social connection, visits from family members can support the emotional and physical well-being of loved ones.
Navigating how often to visit a parent in assisted living includes balancing their needs with your responsibilities and obligations at home. Factors such as distance, time, and a parent’s health can all play a role in determining the frequency of visits.
What Is Assisted Living?
Assisted living is a lifestyle option in senior living communities that offers housing, personal care services, and support for older adults with daily living tasks such as bathing, dressing, medication management, and housekeeping while promoting independence and autonomy. Assisted living also offers various social activities and amenities to enhance the quality of life for their residents.
Benefits of Regular Visits to a Parent in Assisted Living
For a parent in assisted living, regular visits can create a sense of home and are associated with a greater quality of life.
Visits by adult children can also serve as a health check, allowing family members to observe changes in a parent’s well-being. Regular visits can help with monitoring their physical and mental state.
Balancing Visits with Life’s Obligations
The dilemma for many adult children with a parent in assisted living is finding a balance that honors the necessity of visits while managing other responsibilities life demands. There is no denying the juggling act that adult children may face when raising families, pursuing careers, and maintaining households.
The guiding principle for visiting a parent in assisted living can include quality over quantity. A few meaningful visits that allow for substantial time together can often be more beneficial than numerous visits with the stress of obligations. For the parent, this balance can convey commitment without the guilt of feeling like a burden, while for adult children, it prevents burnout and preserves the significance of each reunion.
Technology as a Companion in Absence
Technology has emerged as a bridge. In a time where visits aren’t always possible, video calls and messaging applications like Zoom and WhatsApp have made the world smaller. For older adults uncomfortable with technology, senior-friendly devices and services now specialize in simplicity and connectivity.
For family members, regular check-ins via video calls can sustain relationships, bridging the distance. Technology can allow for supplementary interactions that elevate the quality and frequency of communication with a parent in assisted living.
A Support Network
Beyond the nucleus of the immediate family, building a support network can significantly reduce the pressure of visitation schedules. Engaging other relatives and close friends to participate in visiting spreads the emotional exchanges while also sharing the practical responsibilities.
Nurturing Your Emotional Ecosystem
When a parent transitions to assisted living, adult children often feel many emotions, from guilt and grief to gratitude. It’s crucial to be gentle with oneself and recognize that these feelings are natural. Being present, listening, and sharing moments can be as therapeutic for a parent as they are for adult children.
Engaging in self-care and finding emotional outlets, whether it’s through a support group, therapy, or personal reflection, is indispensable. Understanding one’s emotional ecosystem sets the stage for visits with a parent that are more genuine and less filled by secondary feelings that may arise.
Tips for Visiting a Parent in Assisted Living
Regardless of frequency, quality visits with a parent in assisted living deepen connections and make them more meaningful. Here are some tips to consider when and how often to visit a parent:
- Create a visiting schedule that works for both you and your parent.
- Prioritize visits for special occasions and holidays.
- Plan activities or outings that your parent enjoys.
- Share meals during visits.
Fostering Community for Loved Ones
There is no right answer to how often to visit a parent in assisted living. It’s about adjusting the frequency and quality of visits to suit individual family dynamics and a parent’s needs, which requires adaptability, open communication, and compassion.
Contact The Landing of Poughkeepsie to learn more about how we can support your family.
